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Trump Blames U.S., Not Putin, for ‘Worst Ever’ Relations

Updated 07.16.18 8:22AM ET / Published 07.16.18 4:21AM ET

Reuters

On Sunday after the World Cup final, Hillary Clinton tweeted: “Great World Cup. Question for President Trump as he meets Putin: Do you know which team you play for?” As if to immediately prove her point, the president awoke in Finland ahead of his meeting and blamed U.S. “foolishness” for worsening relations with Moscow, apparently absolving Vladimir Putin of any blame for the hostility despite the Russian president’s annexation of Crimea, support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, and his intelligence agents’ successful intervention in the 2016 U.S. election when they hacked into Democratic Party emails. Trump tweeted: “Our relationship with Russia has NEVER been worse thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!” The Russian foreign ministry later quote-tweeted Trump, saying simply: “We agree.” The two men met Monday in the presidential palace in Helsinki, where they’re set to speak one on one, joined only by their interpreters, in the first major bilateral summit between them.